Terror recruitment case: Raids in 10 locations in 3 Kashmir districts

SRINAGAR: J&K Police’s investigative wing, Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK), Thursday raided 10 locations in three districts of Kashmir Valley and busted a “terrorist recruitment module” allegedly linked to handlers across the Line of Control (LoC) and a network based in Bangladesh, a CIK statement claimed.

The raids were carried out in Srinagar, Ganderbal and Shopian districts on warrants issued by the special NIA judge in Srinagar. The seizure included “incriminating materials, including digital devices, SIM cards, mobile phones, laptops, and other documents” pertinent to the investigation, the statement said. An FIR under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was registered at CIK police station.

A Bangladesh-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Shabir Ahmad Lone, had been handling the module, CIK stated. Lone, a native of Kangan in Ganderbal, operated under multiple aliases, including Raju and Zafar Saddique. A “highly radicalised and trained” handler, Lone underwent “structured arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir” and initially worked as an overground worker for a terror outfit in the late 1990s before joining LeT in the early 2000s, the statement said.

“He later infiltrated India via the Bangladesh border and remained actively involved in terror-related activities, including conspiracy in high-profile attacks,” CIK stated, adding that Lone later exfiltrated to Bangladesh, from where he has been “operating and coordinating terrorist recruitment and network expansion”.

Investigation further revealed that Lone was in close touch with the senior leadership of proscribed terrorist organisations and played a key role in reviving cross-border terror modules, CIK stated. He currently continues direct operations from Bangladesh “through a network of associates and overground workers” and is the “most wanted terrorist operating from a foreign land,” the statement said.

CIK had earlier stated that it arrested one of Lone’s close associates, Irfan Ahmad Wani (45) from Shopian’s Heerpura. Wani had been in continuous contact with Lone and other terrorists based in Pakistan and Afghanistan through encrypted messaging platforms. “He was actively engaged in facilitating recruitment, radicalisation, and logistical support at the local level,” CIK had stated.




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